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Mark Warner

01/05/2015

Nearly a year after federal prosecutors launched a devastating and unprecedented case against Virginia’s 71st governor, U.S. District Judge James R. Spencer will sentence former Gov. Robert F. McDonnell Tuesday, a proceeding that will likely stretch into the afternoon.

McDonnell is expected to address the court before his sentence is revealed, delivering his first major public statement and reflections on his Sept. 4 conviction.

The McDonnell defense is prepared to call several character witnesses to testify on the former governor’s behalf, with typically 10 people allowed around 15 minutes each in federal cases.

Family members and close allies within the governor’s inner circle will gather before the 10 a.m. hearing, and if called, will face cross examination by the government.

According to prosecutors with extensive knowledge of the proceedings, if Spencer sentences McDonnell to prison, it is unlikely the former governor will be immediately taken into custody. Instead, he will be able to self-report for several weeks.

McDonnell would be instructed to turn himself in to U.S. Marshals at Richmond’s federal courthouse at a certain date, or report to a designated prison weeks down the road.

McDonnell’s defense team has up to 10 days after sentencing to file an appeal. Government prosecutors are asking Spencer for a sentence between 10 years and one month in prison, to as long as 12 years and seven months behind bars.

The defense has asked Spencer for a sentence of 6,000 hours of rigorous community service over a span of three years. Under those terms, McDonnell would work an average of 6.4 hours per day, assuming one day off each week.

One major question remaining before Tuesday’s proceeding is what, if any, effect will 440 letters from McDonnell supporters have on Spencer’s decision?

After days reading through each letter from family members, a former news anchor, felons, and people who believe McDonnell is the most honorable person they know, three letters from non-family members separate themselves from the rest – and have eluded significant news coverage.

Janet Vestal Kelly, Virginia's former secretary of the commonwealth, writes in an eight-page letter that McDonnell did not know how to handle his wife, and compared his lack of action to behavior seen in a domestic abuse situation.

“I believe that, even after 38 years of marriage, [McDonnell] has a deep-seated inability to adequately know how to handle his wife’s behavior,” Kelly writes. “I would equate this to some type of victim syndrome in domestic violence situations. Please know that I have personally dealt with situations involving domestic violence, and I say that with this seriousness that this opinion deserves. Emotionally abusive instances were common and severe, as the testimony at trial indicated.”

“I love Maureen – albeit imperfectly – and do not blame her for the circumstances,” Kelly continues. “And I am sick that, because of this secret domino that caused many others to fall, they are convicted felons.”

Janet Vestal Kelly, after testifying in the McDonnell Trial. Photo courtesy: Virginia Public Radio

A second letter is taken straight from the headlines in Northern Virginia – involving the case of alleged serial killer Charles Severance.

The letter is from Norman J. Lodato, who graduated from Bishop Ireton High School with McDonnell in 1972. Like a multitude of letters submitted to Spencer, Lodato writes he has known McDonnell for more than 40 years since their school days in Alexandria.

Then, without naming the suspect, the letter takes a chilling turn.

“Earlier this year, tragedy struck in my own life when my wife was murdered in our home in Alexandria,” Lodato writes. “While I received countless calls and emails, Bob was one of the first people to reach out and share his condolences, as well as his fond memories of Ruthanne.”

Ruthanne Lodato played the organ at Bob and Maureen McDonnell’s wedding, and organized a high school reunion two years ago at the Executive Mansion. She is the music teacher who was shot and killed inside her own home, one of three murders allegedly committed by Charles Severance.

“In his own quiet and humble way, [McDonnell] continued to check in on how my daughters and I were doing via calls and texts and came to visit a month later,” Lodato writes. “We prayed and recounted good times we spent together with my wife.”

Ruthanne Lodato, photo courtsey NBC Washington

Then a third letter may provide insight into how Spencer will sentence the former governor.

It comes from a man who Spencer sentenced before, a political operative named Edmund A. Matricardi III.

Matricardi is the former executive director of the Republican Party of Virginia, indicted on five federal charges of eavesdropping on a Democratic conference call that included then Gov. Mark R. Warner.

“I made a mistake that resulted in the ‘GOP Eavesdropping Scandal,’" Matricardi writes. “I stood before Your Honor to plead guilty on April 1, 2003.”

“I still remember what Your Honor told me on the day I was sentenced. Your Honor said that it was tempting to ‘make an example of me’ and ‘send a message’ to the political class, but Your Honor decided to sentence me as an ‘individual.’ I was punished in a way that made me pay my debt to society but also gave me a second chance to be a better husband and father, better business partner and friend, better citizen and man. I will always be grateful for that second chance.”

Spencer sentenced Matricardi to serve three years' probation and pay a $10,000 fine.

McDonnell is unlikely to walk away as lucky.

Whatever the outcome, the drama will continue through the impending appeal process, and then the sentencing of Maureen McDonnell Feb. 20.

Gillespie told a crowd of supporters with his wife by his side that the numbers could not add up to a Republican victory in the razor-thin Senate race.

"It would be wrong to put Virginians through a recount when in my head and in my heart, I know it would not change the outcome," Gillespie said.

The former RNC Chairman also said he called Warner Friday morning to congratulate him on his re-election. Warner released a statement moments after Gillespie finished his concession speech, describing the phone call as amicable.

"I commended him on a hard-fought campaign and wish him and his family well," Warner said in a written statement. "I am sure Ed Gillespie will continue to contribute to the debate in Virginia and the nation."

"I loved every minute of this campaign - well, maybe not this minute," Gillespie said as he took the podium in Springfield.

The former lobbyist thanked core supporters, known as "the Mighty G-Force," and touted an expansive campaign that translated literature into seven languages across the Commonwealth.

Gillespie is now poised to run for governor in 2017, and was quickly commended by Va. House of Delegates Speaker William J. Howell.

“Congratulations to Ed Gillespie and his entire campaign team on a well-run, hard-fought campaign," Howell said. "Ed took on a tremendous challenge and came closer to victory than many thought possible."

Gillespie and Warner are separated by 16,540 votes, or 0.76 of the total votes cast in Tuesday's election.

Democratic U.S. Sen. Mark R. Warner’s lead increased by more than 500 votes by late Thursday, expanding the margin between Warner and Republican challenger Ed Gillespie to 16,540 votes.

The State Board of Elections also clarified that all cities and counties across Virginia have until Tuesday, Nov. 11 to report their results.

Photo - Friday POLITICO election visualizations

The state code allows municipalities one week after Election Day to complete the canvass process and submit the Abstracts of Votes to the Virginia State Board of Elections.

The Board will then meet to certify the final vote counts Monday, Nov. 24 at 1 p.m. in Richmond’s General Assembly Building, Room C. The Board will declare a winner that day, and cannot adjourn until a winner is named.

Of those provisional ballots, 773 were issued because the voter did not provide an acceptable photo identification at the time of voting. The remaining provisional ballots were issued for a variety of reasons relating to a voter’s registration status.

11/06/2014

Less than two days before a critical reporting deadline, U.S. Sen. Mark R. Warner (D) now leads challenger Ed Gillespie (R) by 16,008 votes across Virginia.

All municipalities in the Commonwealth have until noon Friday to report their provisional ballot tallies, which will then be reviewed by the State Board of Elections.

The Board meets in Richmond Nov. 24 to certify the results, and will then declare an official winner.

As of late Wednesday, both candidates are separated by 0.73 percent of the vote. If the certified margin remains below one percent, Gillespie will have 10 days to request a recount.

Ed Gillespie addresses supporters Election Night in Springfield, Va.

“We were outspent two-to-one and yet the most recent unofficial tally has us separated by less than a percentage point out of more than two million votes cast,” said Gillespie in a written statement. “It was an honor to run, and I will respect the decision reached by Virginia’s voters.”

If the final margin falls below half a percent, Virginia’s municipalities are responsible for paying for a potential recount.

Hours after cities and counties began reviewing the election returns, a member of Sen. Warner’s legal team said the post-election canvass process would show little movement in the total vote count.

“There will be some movement… but nothing that will threaten Sen. Warner’s lead,” said Marc Elias, chair of the Perkins Coie political law practice. “Historically, we tend to see Democratic candidates in general, gain votes during that process.”

All but three of Virginia’s 2,557 precincts are reporting, bringing the unofficial vote total to 99.88 percent complete. The Virginia Public Access Project notes the state’s total is missing votes from precincts in Albemarle, Isle of Wight, Radford and Rockingham.

The group also says absentee ballots in Dinwiddie, Roanoke and Winchester are not yet part of the State Board's total.

“We will be watching the results closely so that we can ensure Virginians have confidence in the accuracy of the results,” Gillespie said Wednesday.

There are 3,622 provisional ballots statewide that could be counted, if they qualify. Provisional ballots are used if voters do not appear on the roll, or attempt to cast votes without photo identification.

While the Gillespie campaign vowed to closely monitor the results, Warner’s team remained defiant that the Senator would return to Washington and serve a second term.

“There is really no precedent for a lead of this magnitude changing over the course of this process or any other recount process Mr. Gillespie may consider,” Elias said. “The margin here is close, but it’s not small.”

As the dust from Election Night settled, Virginia’s election map appeared dramatically different from Sen. Warner’s first successful Senate campaign. While Warner lost only six of the Commonwealth’s 133 municipalities back in 2008, Virginia now appears to be a sea of red, with populated pockets of blue supporting Warner.

11/03/2014

In the hours before Republicans may retake the Senate, controlling both houses of Congress for the first time since 2006, U.S. Sen. Mark R. Warner may be positioned to counter the national narrative, defending his seat from GOP momentum.

Larry J. Sabato, director of the University of Virginia’s Center for Politics, just released his final Crystal Ball picks for U.S. Senate, keeping Virginia “likely blue” in a sea of red, along with several Democratic to Republican seat changes.

But what should we watch for as the results come in, and the race between Warner and Republican challenger Ed Gillespie ends?

Even if Gillespie comes up short, a single digit difference between the two candidates could propel Gillespie into the national spotlight once again.

The former Republican National Committee chairman would have accomplished a tight race with a relatively few contributions coming from out-of-state groups, a situation that prompted Gillespie to lend his own campaign $435,000 in the final days of the race.

Right now, according to the Wason Center’s final statewide survey of likely voters before Election Day 2014, Warner leads Gillespie, 51% to 44%, with 3% undecided. The margin of error for the survey is +/- 3.4%.

It is unlikely either candidate will capture all undecided voters, and the Warner Campaign contends the numbers reveal the democrat has sealed his path to victory.

However, the Gillespie Campaign points to a GOP robo poll from the firm VOX Populi with Warner leading only by four percentage points, 44% to 40%.

VOX was the only firm to show former U.S. House Majority Leader Eric Cantor struggling in the days before his historic loss to Randolph-Macon professor Dave Brat.

Depending on the final margin, Gillespie may signal to Virginia voters on Election Night that his fight has just begun, positioning him to run for governor in 2017.

Another area to watch is where exactly Warner wins, and can he hold on to some municipalities in the southern section of the Commonwealth?

Southwest Virginia was where Warner grew a substantial power base when he ran for governor in 2001. The Senator also prides himself on appealing to people across Virginia, from the Beltway to Buffalo Junction.

But maintaining a historic level of high popularity has not been easy, with widespread disapproval of President Obama across much of rural Virginia.

As Washington Post reporters Jenna Portnoy and Rachel Weiner note, voters in Southwestern Virginia have replaced all state Democratic lawmakers with Republicans in the six years since Warner won his 2008 U.S. Senate race.

The maps showing the Republican and Democratic breakdown of Warner’s 2008 race, followed by the 2012 U.S. Senate Race and 2013 Governor’s Race show dramatic differences from Warner’s first successful campaign for Senate.

10/16/2014

After Ed Gillespie’s campaign canceled a week of advertisements on NBC12 Monday, spokesperson Paul Logan confirmed Gillespie will roll out a new political ad this coming Saturday.

The new order reached NBC12 today, an hour before Thursday’s 2 p.m. deadline. The new ad buy stretches for a week, beginning Oct. 18.

NBC12 has learned the new ad will target Sen. Mark Warner’s role in discussing possible jobs for Sen. Phillip P. Puckett’s daughter.

Gillespie raised $1.8 million in the third quarter ending Sept. 30, with Sen. Warner raising $2 million in the same time period.

“We will have the resources to execute our plans in the final weeks,” Logan said in an interview Thursday.

Warner's campaign has more than $8 million on hand to spend in the final sprint to Election Day. Fundraising for Virginia’s senior senator has topped $16 million, with Gillespie totaling about $6 million since he announced his run for office in January.

The Associated Press reported Thursday Warner maintains a sizable advantage in television ad buys across Virginia, and in Washington, D.C.

The District is the eighth largest media market in the country, where ads can top more than $1 million a week during election season.

“We are focused on communicating Senator Warner's bipartisan record of lowering student debt, bringing jobs back from overseas and getting our country's balance sheet in order,” said campaign spokesman David Turner.

“Sen. Warner's message is resonating with voters as evidenced by the Senator's broad base of support all across Virginia.”

10/08/2014

It was a debate complete with a challenge on stage, a shout-out to the Washington Nationals and vows to stay true to Virginia voters, as Sen. Mark Warner and Republican challenger Ed Gillespie made their cases to the candidates’ largest debate audience yet.

The hour-long broadcast moderated by Chuck Todd of NBC News featured both candidates at their best, with few, if any missteps from either side.

Todd’s first question focused on the U.S. Supreme Court’s surprise move to decline gay marriage petitions from five states, paving the way for same-sex marriage to become legal in Virginia.

“Are you comfortable (with the decision)?” Todd asked Gillespie. “Can you accept this decision by the Supreme Court not to act?”

“As a senator I believe it's the proper prerogative of the states to make these determinations," Gillespie responded. “And I do not support a federal marriage amendment or a federal policy in this regard.”

One of the biggest surprises of the night came when Warner asked Gillespie if they could both stop using outside money from super PACs, in order to combat unrestrained partisan politics.

“I'd be willing for these last 28 days, let's just have this race between you and me,” Warner said. “And no outside influences. That would be a step in the right direction.”

“Do I get to spend $1.4 million on an outside group like you spent?” Gillespie responded. “I think we oughta make sure this is about campaigns between the two of us, not outside money,” Warner said.

Obamacare also took center stage, with Gillespie contending an estimated 250,000 Virginians are now at risk of losing their health insurance, because of new standards under the Affordable Care Act.

“You don't have to go far in the Commonwealth to find someone who has had their insurance canceled and lost their doctor as a result of Senator Warner's support for the Affordable Care Act, Obamacare,” Gillespie said.

“My opponent's charge and this figure of 250,000 absolutely false,” Warner said. “The head of the insurance association of Virginia said that number was completely made up.”

During testimony before Virginia's Health Insurance Reform Commission, Doug Gray, executive director of the Virginia Association of Health Plans, backed Warner’s statement. “It’s just an estimate of the worst case scenario, but I’ve seen no data on it,” Gray said in a September NBC12 interview.

Gillespie revealed he would be putting forth an alternative set of ideas concerning healthcare reform by the end of the week.

“Now the fact is that we can have reforms that address concerns about preexisting conditions, that make health care more affordable,” Gillespie said. “I'm gonna put forward a positive alternative, of my own, on Friday and talk about refundable tax credits, for example, and protections on preexisting conditions.”

Debate panelist Aaron Gilchrist, now of NBC4 Washington, asked why Virginian’s economy has lagged in several cities across the Commonwealth, in stark contrast to the debate’s location in affluent Fairfax County.

“One of the things I'm proud of is that Virginia has actually consistently done better than national averages on unemployment.” Warner answered. “I think one of my best days as governor was when we brought close to 700 high-tech jobs to Russell County in Southwest Virginia because we put the incentives and we put the package together.”

“Mark Warner just talked about his time very extensively as Governor Warner,” Gillespie said. “But Gov. Warner wouldn't recognize Sen. Warner today. Our unemployment rate has been climbing. Actually it's climbed 7/10 of a percentage point over the past four months.”

In a moment of agreement, both candidates said Congress should be called back into session, in order to vote on the use of force against ISIS.

“I think it would be a healthy debate to have on the floor of the United States Senate,” Gillespie said. “And I believe it would send a much stronger signal to our potential allies and to our enemies that the United States is committed to this effort.”

Wrapping up the debate, Sen. Warner was given the last word. At the same time, the Washington Nationals were fighting to stay alive in Game 4 of the National League Division Series. “Go Nats!” Warner said, drawing laughs from the audience, after a tough fight on the field, and a tough fight on the debate stage.

08/05/2014

U.S. Senator Mark Warner (D) chartered a government paid private plane to travel from Durham, N.C., where he was helping to move his daughter move into college, to Jonesville, VA to begin a swing of meetings with constituents in Southwest Virginia. The trip occurred between August 21-24, 2012.

The flight cost taxpayers $4,680.05. He then flew from Blountville, TN (the airport that serves the tri-cities portion of Southwest Virginia) back to D.C. on another chartered flight. That flight cost taxpayers $6,357.70.

These flights are in addition to the flights attributed to Warner in a USA Today report that outlined chartered air travel by members of the U.S. Senate.

Warner's opponent former Bush aide Ed Gillespie (R) has attacked the incumbent's use of taxpayer funded private air travel as not fiscally responsible.

At first glance the travel appears suspicious because in addition to the travel paid for by the Senate, Warner also lists a hotel charge on his campaign expenditures for $3,000 on August 21st in North Carolina (pg 57 of the document). However a campaign official explained that Warner was not involved in a political event that week. The charge is the remaining balance on his lodging during the Democratic National Convention in Charlotte, which just happened to be paid at the same time he was in North Carolina.

Warner was in Durham for a personal reason, moving his daughter into Duke University. He paid for the travel to Durham on his own. Then, because he was moving on to official Senate business, he charged the flight to Jonesville to the Senate. The expenditure was cleared through Senate ethics reviewers.

Team Warner has defended his use of private turbo prop planes, many of them 30-40 years old, for Senate travel as the result of the rigorous schedule the Senator maintains, especially when traveling to remote sections of Virginia.

On this particular trip to the Southwest, Warner held 13 different events over three days in 10 different towns. The swing included a trip into an underground coal mine, Buchanan Mine #2, in Oakwood in Buchanan County.

"Our focus should be that he cares enough to see, first hand the current state of Southwest Virginia, and most importantly, that he asked us, face to face, what he could do to help," said Mayor Coburn in a quote provided through the Warner campaign.

Gillespie's camp argues that commercial air travel would serve the same purpose at a fraction of the cost and often remind voters that Warner is one of the wealthiest members of the Senate. In response to the USA today story, the Gillespie campaign pointed to a similar travel schedule of Warner's fellow Democrat, Sen. Tim Kaine that was conducted all by automobile that was outlined in the report.

But as the USA Today story points out Warner is one of many members of the Senate who take advantage of chartered air travel, which is an acceptable expenditure within the confines of each Senator's office budget. Warner in fact gave back $1.6 million to the Treasury in unspent office and travel funds since 2009.

Warner isn't even the only Senator from Virginia to use chartered air travel to get around the state. According to Senate Disbursement Records, Republican George Allen racked up $104,948 in air travel charges during his six years in the Senate.

Even Gillespie himself could not bring himself to make a pledge to not take chartered air during a conference call on the Warner plane controversy. A point the Warner camp seized on.

"His attack is nothing but hypocrisy," said Warner campaign spokesman David Turner. "Contrary to Gillespie's attacks, Senator Warner has never used a luxury jet for official travel. The fact is, Senator Warner is a careful steward of taxpayer dollars."

Don't expect that to keep the Gillespie camp from using Warner's air travel as a way to dust up his record as a fiscal watchdog and deficit hawk. His campaign has already released a web video called "Air Warner" designed to knock the Democrat's time in the sky.

Both Warner and Gillespie will make campaign stops in the Richmond area on Tuesday.

Warner will attend Richmond's National Night Out Ceremony at 6pm. The event is being held at Abner Clay Park, N. Belvidere St and W. Leigh St. in the city.

Gillespie will also attend National Night Out Ceremonies. He will be in Henrico at the Richmond International Raceway at 4:30pm. He also held a "Women for Gillespie" event at Ball Office Products in Richmond earlier in the afternoon.

07/27/2014

It was the first and perhaps final debate for Virginia’s two major U.S. Senate candidates Saturday, with Republican Ed Gillespie showing poise and composure against Democratic incumbent Sen. Mark Warner.

The showdown had a series of bizarre moments, starting with the Virginia candidates debating 10 minutes across the border in West Virginia. Both sides met at the historic Greenbrier Resort, where the Virginia Bar Association holds its annual summer conference.

The most notable, and decidedly awkward, moment of the debate arrived within the final five minutes, when both candidates discussed the Supreme Court's recent Hobby Lobby ruling.

Gillespie said the divisive issue on contraception coverage could be avoided if birth control pills became available to adults over-the-counter.

Warner stumbled when he challenged Gillespie, saying the Republican supported “personhood legislation,” a claim that led to an exchange similar to the “sign it right now” debate with Hillary Clinton and Rick Lazio in 2000. Click the clip below to view:

A major theme of Warner’s strategy was to cast Gillespie’s policies as a continuation of those seen during the George W. Bush White House. Moderator Judy Woodruff at one point asked how the Republican’s ideas would avoid declining median household incomes and other economic disparities seen in the Bush years.

Gillespie largely avoided a direct answer to the question, instead pointing to negative economic indications about job losses and wages as a consequence of the Affordable Care Act.

But Warner argued the policies espoused by Bush and Gillespie led to “two wars on a credit card,” and additional entitlement spending. The response is seen below:

Gillespie continued on the subject of the Affordable Care Act to attack Warner, with the Senator responding that the sweeping law needs to be gradually reformed, rather than repealed. Warner touted his “Copper Plan,” which would provide more affordable healthcare options for Americans. The answer left Gillespie unmoved. Click the clip below to view:

Finally, Gillespie’s lobbying career persisted as a recurring theme throughout the debate, a job which Gillespie cast as a strength. “Having advised private sector enterprises on how to get things done, with bi-partisan support can actually help me to be an effective senator,” Gillespie said.

Warner questioned whether it was right for Gillespie’s firm to accept $700,000 from Enron, a client Gillespie represented for 10 months.